Tech firm Wärtsilä pledges its new modular engine is future fuel proof - with its eye on ammonia
The medium-speed, four-stroke engine, launched at SMM on September 7, can already operate on diesel, LNG, or on either gas or liquid carbon-neutral biofuels, and can easily be upgraded to operate with future carbon-free fuels as they become available, the firm says - keeping an eye on what could be coming but making it clear that it intends it to be the first Wärtsilä engine to run on ammonia.
The medium-speed, four-stroke engine, launched at SMM on September 7, can already operate on diesel, LNG, or on either gas or liquid carbon-neutral biofuels, and can easily be upgraded to operate with future carbon-free fuels as they become available, the firm says - keeping an eye on what could be coming but making it clear that it intends it to be the first Wärtsilä engine to run on ammonia.
We are renewing and restructuring our portfolio and the aim is decarbonisation obviously so we are moving towards fuel flexible or agnostic engines as a way of future proofing our assets.
We all know the so-called future fuels which everyone talks about, will be limited for many years and therefore hard to come by and also expensive.
This is why we believe there will be a wide assortment of different types of fuels in use and for that reason the vessels have to be flexible, so technology has to be flexible enough to cope with it.”
To allow maximum optimisation, says Nysjo, everything is fine tuned every second with feedback loops, which has meant that methane slip has been cut by half, he says.
The technology builds on engines that Wärtsilä has already brought out, such as the 46, he said, and this is the smallest one.
“This is technology development already under way, with a concept readiness slated for 2023, followed by planned product release soon afterwards,” says Roger Holm, President Marine Power & Executive Vice President Wärtsilä Corporation.
The flexibility of having different valve timing options is a key enabler for future fuels and emissions optimisation.
“This engine marks the beginning of a new era of future-proof medium speed, small-bore engines, and comes as an important step towards the maritime industry meeting its decarbonisation goals. The Wärtsilä 25 ticks all the boxes. It is a small but powerful engine, and it provides an effortless transition to future fuels, making it a future-proof investment already today. Most importantly, the Wärtsilä 25 brings all of these advantages whilst keeping the total cost of ownership within reason.”
“This is technology development already under way, with a concept readiness slated for 2023, followed by planned product release soon afterwards,” says Roger Holm, President Marine Power & Executive Vice President Wärtsilä Corporation.
The flexibility of having different valve timing options is a key enabler for future fuels and emissions optimisation.
The beginning of a new era
“This engine marks the beginning of a new era of future-proof medium speed, small-bore engines, and comes as an important step towards the maritime industry meeting its decarbonisation goals. The Wärtsilä 25 ticks all the boxes. It is a small but powerful engine, and it provides an effortless transition to future fuels, making it a future-proof investment already today. Most importantly, the Wärtsilä 25 brings all of these advantages whilst keeping the total cost of ownership within reason.”
The Wärtsilä 25 is designed for long periods of maintenance-free operation and it supports dry-docking schedules with a time-between-overhauls (TBO) of up to 32,000 hours. As a result, both downtime and operating costs are significantly reduced. Data-driven dynamic maintenance planning and predictive maintenance services can extend the TBO even further.
The Wärtsilä 25 features a robust and highly efficient turbocharging system with a high pressure ratio. It is now available in 6L, 7L, 8L and 9L cylinder configurations, while the dual-fuel (DF) version has a power output ranging from 1.9 to 3.1 MW, and the diesel version from 2.0 to 3.4 MW. The common-rail high pressure fuel injection technology optimises combustion and the fuel-injection settings at all loads. This in turn promotes smoke-free operation.
